USA
,
2012
,
28 min.
Director:
Machu Latorre
Entry Denied (executive produced by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman) follows three bi-national gay and lesbian couples struggling with the U.S.’s discriminatory immigration laws, which have no provisions for same-sex couples, due to the Defense of Marriage Act.... Read more

The Battle of amfAR

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Academy Award–winning directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (HOWL, The Celluloid Closet, Paragraph 175) return with yet another not-to-be-missed documentary, this time focusing on Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor and research scientist Dr. Mathilde Krim. In 1985, these dynamic women founded amfAR to mobilize the scientific community in the fight against AIDS. In the early ’80s, an HIV diagnosis often meant a death sentence—and the U.S. government was failing to act. Activists leaped into action to call attention to the epidemic and to care for the sick and the dying. But a critical issue remained: the need for quick and effective scientific research, unfettered by red tape. Dr. Krim, a pioneer in her field, is a charming and steadfast ally to the gay community. The effervescent Ms. Taylor rejoiced in being able to use her fame to help people, to get politicians and the public to listen, and to raise urgently needed funds. Taylor and Krim were truly a force to be reckoned with: inspiring, captivating, and extremely persistent. From the Reagan years to the Ryan White Care Act, to the development of protease inhibitors, engaging interviews with amfAR scientists are at times harrowing—others full of joyous laughter as they grappled head-on with the tragic onset of the AIDS crisis.

— KEVIN SCHAUB

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ENTRY DENIED

Entry Denied (executive produced by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman) follows three bi-national gay and lesbian couples struggling with the U.S.’s discriminatory immigration laws, which have no provisions for same-sex couples, due to the Defense of Marriage Act.